


The Wraith and her Grisha

by freethekitties



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Angst and Romance, Comfort, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, No Smut, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-12 00:15:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18000149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freethekitties/pseuds/freethekitties
Summary: Inej and Nina find comfort in eachother.





	The Wraith and her Grisha

**Author's Note:**

> This is an incredibly self-indulgent fic because I adore these two, and also I really thought Inej was a lesbian in the beginning.

**Inej**

Everytime Inej visits Nina she is reminded of the first time they met. Seeing this naive girl, eager to sign any and every contract, just so she had work. Dangerous, especially for a Grisha. Although they are called "attendants" in many places since Kerch has prohibited human trafficking quite some time ago, they're still treated like slaves in many wealthy households, working tirelessly for them, not being able to leave the house at certain times, and more. And who didn't want a young, pretty Heartrender working for them?  
Every old merchant would take her in on an instant.  
But instead of being a man's weapon, Nina is working in the House of the White Rose and makes her money off of making little wrinkles and a bit of fat disappear, making people a little happier.

With this thought in her mind, Inej assures no one but the Grisha is inside and slips through the window into her room. She settles on the windowsill and watches Nina turn her head ever so slightly. She doesn't flinch, not like the others. They only hear of the Wraith through silly tales and ghost stories, how she moves silently through the shadows.  
"Isn't it depressing, working _here_ , and not as a soldier?" she asks, wiping her hands on her trousers. She didn't want to make her pretty little room dirty, after all.  
"Isn't it weird, visiting people by entering through the window?" she retorts, but there is a smile on her face; she means no harm. Inej doesn't, either. She's just not one for smalltalk.  
"I often come in through the window, but usually not to _visit_ someone."  
"Should I feel flattered then?" She laughs softly while taking off her fancy Grisha garment. It's not a real Ravkan robe, just show for the customers really, but she can't deny that red suits her. In red, she actually looks like a noble enchantress who could stop a man's heart any second.  
Inej's heart only stopps for a faint moment, though. Visiting her after her last customer was gone had become a little tradition - if she didn't have to run errands for Kaz, that is - but no matter how often she visits, her heart still skips a beat when she sees the red robe sliding down her shoulders.  


"No, not really. It's quite a pleasure."  
"How lewd!" Nina grins, "You better beg your Gods for forgiveness later."  
Inej, a little more serious now, shakes her head.  
"No, not anymore." She jumps off the windowsill and lands silently on her feet. She never makes any noise, too used to complete silence to do so. Most people find the way she moves to be unsettling, but the Grisha doesn't seem to be bothered by that. No, she simply tosses her robe onto a nearby chair and holds her hand out to the Wraith, not afraid at all. Despite wearing something resembling a light nightgown.  
Another newfound tradition: Inej takes her hand and brings it to her lips. Perfectly aware that Nina can feel her heartbeat, how she is feeling, how warm she is getting.  
"And do you know why I stopped praying for forgiveness?"  
"Tell me."  


"I've stopped thinking what we're doing is wrong," she whispers against her soft skin, her eyes resting on her. Here in Ketterdam she has learned to trust no one but herself. But it's different with Nina. She knows her past, her pain - at least parts of it. And she needs someone like her, someone to hold onto. She is easier to read than others, unlike Kaz, whom she'd follow into certain deatg, but whose thoughts were a mystery for her. Right here, she felt safe.  
She allows Nina to move her hand away from her lips and onto her now bare shoulder. She fidgets with the thin strap of the nightgown while the Grisha brings her arms around her.  
"I want nothing more but to say the same, Inej," she sighs.  


_But I can't,_ is what she wants to say but doesn't. Inej knows, and she knows why: There is no day Nina doesn't wait for Matthias. She always thinks about him, how she could get him out of the Hellgate. But sometimes, she believes to see her forgetting about her worries about the Drüskelle. Just for a moment. And that's enough for Inej. She wouldn't blame her for going straight back to Matthias if he ever was released. Every time she speaks of him, she has this longing in her eyes, and Inej knewthat when she had allowed this thing between them to blossom. She knows she will never be _the one_ for her, but that doesn't stop her from enjoying their time together.  


"I know." She places the lightest kiss on the corner of Nina's mouth. "And that's fine." Nina leans in some more, demanding a proper kiss, but Inej turns her head instead. The Grisha pouts a little, craning her neck.  
"Inej..." She sounds more like herself now, feigning to be offended at her rejection. Or maybe she really is impatient, which wouldn't be anything new either. Inej smiles at how much she adores the woman in her arms.  
"I just want you to know that it really is okay for me."  
"I know!"  
"You feel guilt, Nina. But you don't have to. At least not because of me."  
Nina shakes her head.  
"I feel guilt because of... everything, pretty much. _This_ thing," she makes a vague gesture towards them before tightening her embrace, "is the least of my concerns. Really. I barely feel guilty anymore. It's just..." She is looking for the right words, which surprises Inej. Usually, the Grisha is quick-witted. Sometimes she has the feeling she forgets to breathe while talking - it's always very adorable when she runs out of breath while talking about about Ravka or the café down the street.  
"I, I don't know anymore what I'd do if I saw him again. In the beginning I was sure I'd... I thought we both just needed a distraction. But... it doesn't feel like one anymore. And that doesn't bring guilt but... I'm just not sure about anything anymore. I'm losing the ground whenever I think about it, Inej. And-and I don't know what to do about it! Or how to feel..."

Her voice cracks, and now it was Inej's turn to lean in, except that Nina doesn't refuse the kiss. It doesn't take long, but it's painful anyway, and she can taste Nina's tears as she breaks away. She has to swallow a few times to keep her cool and just allows her to bury her face in the crook of her neck. With a soft sigh she rests her hand on the back of Nina's head, playing with her hair and not saying anything. Feeling her chest move erratically up and down makes her feel sorry for her, and for a second, she thinks that the Heartrender forces her heart to break.  
"Nina. You... don't have to think about it. Not at the moment. I'm not forcing you to choose anyone, there is no need to." Right now, there is only the two of them in this room. No Matthias, no customer, only them. There is no reason for this sort of pain.  


"Yeah... Yeah, I know. I'm sorry."  
"You don't have to be."  
"I'm ruining our evening!"  
"No!" Inej protests, "You don't. You're important to me. Do you really think I'd want you to carry something like this around without talking about it?" She feels Nina grin against her neck.  
"Well, I could have timed it a little better." She looks up to her, eyes watery, and Inej gulps again so her throat doesn't tighten. She looks so vulnerable, and it's hard to believe that this girl could kill anyone with the wave of her hand. At the moment she isn't the mighty Grisha in red.  
"Doesn't matter," Inej mumbles into her hair and traces the curve of her back with her fingertips. Nina rewards her with a dreamy little sigh.  


"Inej?"  
"Hmm?"  
"Thank you."

**Author's Note:**

> This fic might sound weird and awkward bc I published it in German first since English isn't my first language, so sorry for any mistakes I made during translation, or if something doesn't sound right.


End file.
